After spending two weeks with the hottest Windows 8 Ultrabook around — the Yoga is flying off Best Buy store shelves — I have no regrets, even though I lost about $350 in the trade and the laptop has some drawbacks that require third-party fixes.

In case you’ve missed the commercials, the Yoga’s patented hinge technology allows the screen to fold back 360 degrees, transforming the device into a tablet. It is an eye-catching and valuable feature.

Most reviews, from Walt Mossberg to Wired, have noted that the Yoga serves well as a laptop, but not so much as a tablet. I agree that the machine’s size is not ideal for a tablet – a 13-inch screen is slightly too big and 3 pounds is a little too heavy. But the Yoga still works for me as a slate, in bed or on the couch.

I won’t just rehash all of the points noted by other reviewers. Instead, I’ll use this blog post to share a few tips/hacks/modifications that will, for the most part, fix some of the highlighted drawbacks of the Yoga. Read more…

Tamara Chuang covers personal technology and local tech news for The Denver Post. She previously spent 10 years doing the same thing for The Orange County Register before taking a hiatus to move here and become a SAHM to a precocious toddler.